Wine lovers converged at the Cunard Centre on the Halifax waterfront Friday for the start of the 17th edition of the festival, which wraps up at 10 p.m. tonight. It is expected to attract more than 4,000 wine aficionados.

This is Papa’s seventh trip to Canada but his first to Nova Scotia. Chile is this year’s featured country at the festival.

One of the Taste of Nova Scotia tables sampling tables was even serving Chilean seafood stew.

Papa is winemaker for the Concha y Toro winery, which produces Chilean imports that are popular in Nova Scotia and across Canada. He was recognized as winemaker of the year for 2007 by the Association of Food and Wine Writers of Chile.

Papa basically travels the world sharing his passion for his native Chile and the wine industry that has helped transform the economy of the South American country since the 1980s.

Nova Scotia has a long way to go before its winemaking industry can be considered in the same category as Chile’s. But Papa said the Nova Scotia wines he has sampled indicate that there are passionate winemakers in this province who are dedicated to their craft and accomplishing great things, considering the climate.

“The huge natural advantage we have in Chile is the Andes mountains, which create this huge barrier along our very narrow nation,” Papa said.

This provides a Mediterranean-style climate along the coast, perfect for some of the newer grape varieties, he said.

The warmer inland areas give rise to the original Merlots that helped put Chile on the international map of wine exporters.

The Nova Scotia Liquor Corp. introduced one of these original Merlots — the Frontera Cabernet Merlot from Concha y Toro — to the province in 1987 and it quickly won a loyal following.

“The Chilean wines deliver very good value at each price point,” Papa said of the success of the Concha y Toro label in Nova Scotia.

Chile is the fifth-largest exporter of wine in the world and Canada is the third-biggest importer of Chilean wines, after the United States and the United Kingdom.

“The industry really took off in Chile when we expanded our growing from the central regions to include the coastal areas,” Papa said.

He encouraged Nova Scotia consumers to do a little research and learn about the newer brands and varieties from coastal Chile available through the Nova Scotia Liquor Corp.

One of the newer Chilean labels for sale here is Casillero, which introduced a Pinot Grigio in Nova Scotia in August and will unveil a sparkling wine Monday.